Tuesday was a very special day indeed. Not only were we on our way from Florence to Rome, but it was the day Alex turned sixteen. Alex has suggested on Monday that her dream would be to see the Sistine Chapel on her birthday, and I was going to do my very best to make that happen. Worried about long lines during Easter Week, I tried to call a couple of tour companies mentioned in the Rick Steves book, but to no avail. So I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it unfolds. It's her birthday, we are on our way to Rome, how can it not work out?
First order of business in Rome's very busy station is to buy tickets for the leg to Venice, and we've got that process down. Now to find our hotel, across the river in Trastevere. My first thought was we'll just take a bus that will get us close and then walk the rest of the way. I'm a little concerned because the hotel is so small, I literally couldn't find it on Google Earth. Then when we walked out of the station to the bus plaza out front, it was gone. I mean literally gone - the whole are dug up, apparently building a new one. Taxi time.
Turns out taxis in Rome are pretty cheap and actually have high entertainment value, if you like 'Mr. Toad's Wild Ride' in Disneyland. Driving in Rome is not for the faint of heart. So off we went, me trying to follow along on a map to get my bearings. I think we are getting close and the recognize the street we are on as one I'd walked down a few years ago with friends, Janine and Lori, and sure enough, at the bottom of the hill, the taxi stops, driver jumps out and places our bags on the side of the road, and says 'Twelve'. I think he's telling us the address and for the life of me I can't see any '12's anywhere. We both looked confused for a moment until he breaks out in a grin, points to number 7, and says "12 Euros". Perfect. If we'd taken the bus I might still be wandering around looking for that door.
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